NCP Infighting Escalates Amid Merger Talks

After the death of Ajit Pawar, the infighting in his NCP seems to be coming out in the open. On one side is the camp of Sunetra Pawar and Parth Pawar, on the other side is the faction of Sunil Tatkare and Praful Patel. The question is whether this conflict is just a fight of organization and position, or it is also related to the merger talks going on with the Sharad Pawar faction. The dispute started with the process of Sunetra Pawar becoming the national president being challenged. Now the complainant alleges that Tatkare re-elected himself as the state president without following the due process, about six months before the completion of his term. NCP Ajit Pawar faction leader Bhausaheb Dattarao Patil Gore claims that the election of the state president is completely illegal, because neither the election schedule was announced for it nor the dates of nomination and voting were fixed. According to him, Tatkare's term was to end in July, but he re-elected as the national president in February, Sunetra Pawar became the national president.